winding specs for Burstbuckers?

[lexluthier72]

Hey Folks,
Not that Im anywhere near ready to tackle a humbucker, but I was wondering if anyone had any winding specs on Burstbuckers...mainly the 3 model. Ive heard the coils are wired in parallel (at the coil itself)....How does this affect how one winds the coils? My initial thought is each coil is very high resistance reading? Is this correct?Any info would be great!
-Erin

[big_teee]

Hey Folks,
Not that Im anywhere near ready to tackle a humbucker, but I was wondering if anyone had any winding specs on Burstbuckers...mainly the 3 model. Ive heard the coils are wired in parallel (at the coil itself)....How does this affect how one winds the coils? My initial thought is each coil is very high resistance reading? Is this correct?Any info would be great!
-Erin

Got the info below from a mojo add.
They are just standard humbuckers wired in series. Like all Humbuckers.
The Burstbucker pro has a A5 magnet. The ones below all have Alnico 2 magnets.

BurstBuckerTM pickups from Gibson Gear now give guitarists a choice of three replica sounds from Gibson's original "Patent Applied For" pickups - the pickups that give the '59 Les Paul Standard its legendary sound. The three BurstBuckers?- all with unpolished magnets and non-potted coils, like the originals - represent the variations found among vintage Gibson humbuckers.

burstbuckerTM 1 Aprox Ohms reading = 7.8K on #1
(IM57A-NH) is slightly underwound, with medium "vintage" output, and works well in both bridge and neck positions.

burstbuckerTM 2 Aprox Ohms reading = 8.2K on #2
(IM57B-NH) is wound in the range of Gibson's '57 Classic, with slightly hotter "vintage" output than the BurstBuckerT #1, and works well in the bridge position with a BurstBuckerT #1 in the neck position.

burstbuckerTM 3 Approx Ohms reading = 8.7K on #3
(IM57C-NH) is slightly overwound, with hotter output, and works well in the bridge position with a BurstBuckerTM #2 in the neck position.

Here's what they all look like. got this from Stew Mac humbucker kit page.
Good luck,
Terry

[lexluthier72]

Ok. Good to know! Id heard a rumor they were wired in parallel!?! As they are "unbalanced" coils (ie, one coil is wound slightly less than the other) Any idea what the ratio of one coil to the other is? I have a 3, but am hesitant to tear it apart (its in my personal guitar, and sounds great)
-E.

[big_teee]

Ok. Good to know! Id heard a rumor they were wired in parallel!?! As they are "unbalanced" coils (ie, one coil is wound slightly less than the other) Any idea what the ratio of one coil to the other is? I have a 3, but am hesitant to tear it apart (its in my personal guitar, and sounds great)
-E.

Your right that falls in that category of if it Ain't Broke Don't fix it!
Seymour duncan wind most of their coils equal.
I experiment around. The EVH Frakenstrat Bridge Humbucker with A2 Magnet, was wound 4.3k Dcr on the Screw bobbin and 4.7k on the Slug bobbin. I've wound several variations of that and it sounds great. I like a 7k to 7.5k Neck Humbucker Pickup.
Later,
Terry

[David Schwab]

Id heard a rumor they were wired in parallel!?!

No, but some of the Burstbuckers have 4-conductor wiring which allows that option.

[lexluthier72]

Hmm....The rumor I heard is they are wired that way at the coil...Obviously incorrect, which is why I asked here, as I knew someone would have the right answer! Terry....I'll see if anyone local has taken any apart, and see if they can measure the individual coils....

[cminor9]

I have a set of them in a guitar. Nice pickups! Before buying them, I remember reading that they were "randomly" wound to replicate the time when the factory workers would wind them till they looked about right (I guess trying to capture some of the old skool vibe). So I predict you'll see a relatively wide variance if you were to measure a sampling of burstbuckers.

[lexluthier72]

cminor9....I have a BB3 in the bridge of an old Ibanez LP, and in the neck a T-top....great combo! Thanks for that info....takes a little "science" out, and puts in a little "feel" If/when I get to making a BB replica, I'll be handwinding....so, Im sure I can "miss" a few turns on the counter. =)

[David Schwab]

Before buying them, I remember reading that they were "randomly" wound to replicate the time when the factory workers would wind them till they looked about right (I guess trying to capture some of the old skool vibe). So I predict you'll see a relatively wide variance if you were to measure a sampling of burstbuckers.

They are all wound the same, but the two coils are wound differently.

When the two coils in a pickup have a different number of turns, that variation puts a little "edge" or "bite" on the classic humbucker sound. That's the sound BurstBuckers™ replicate.

[lexluthier72]

I guess what I was after was, Did anyone know the exact amount of turns of each coil, and type of wire. I assume that Gibson has these machine wound, and that every burstbucker is the same within the specific model number....I knew the 2 coils were wound with a different number of turns....I was after how many turns. =/

[cminor9]

They are all wound the same, but the two coils are wound differently.

Thanks for clearing that up, David.

lexluthier, Sorry for the misinformation. I wondered about the manufacturing proces/quality control if there was some degree of randomness to the process. Kind of defeats the purpose of a manufacturing process.

[lexluthier72]

No worries....A secret I have, is...I worked for Gibson briefly from 94-96....at thier acoustic factory in Bozeman MT....As one of the "higher up" employees....(I worked at the end of the production process, in final setup....we took a trip to Nashville to see the electric end of things....Not a handwinding machine in sight.....but, I too have heard stories of the early winding machine counters not working so hot, or folks not paying attention to when to shut off the winder and thus, mismatched coils....so....I assume they have an automated machine set up to wind several different coils, with slightly different wind counts. Judging from how production was set up at Bozeman, Im pretty certain that handwinding would be out of the question, as it "takes too much time"
Again, IF I ever get to winding a set, Id like to close the margin of error a bit, and save myself from too much trial and error.... =)
Thanks David for all the info....BTW....I dig alot of your posts! Very good information! How long have you been winding your own pickups?

[LtKojak]

Hmm....The rumor I heard is they are wired that way at the coil...Obviously incorrect, which is why I asked here, as I knew someone would have the right answer! Terry....I'll see if anyone local has taken any apart, and see if they can measure the individual coils....

If you're going to handwind, try the following recipe:

Wind tight, not too much scatter.
Wire: #42 PE or SPN
Screw coil: 5132 turns
Slug coil: 5848 turns

It should read 'round 8.68K-8.78K.

This come from the notes of a local winder friend in the folder "Gibson BB3 - '57 Classic Plus"

You're welcome.

[lexluthier72]

Cool! Thanks!

[big_teee]

If you're going to handwind, try the following recipe:

Wind tight, not too much scatter.
Wire: #42 PE or SPN
Screw coil: 5132 turns
Slug coil: 5848 turns

It should read 'round 8.68K-8.78K.

This come from the notes of a local winder friend in the folder "Gibson BB3 - '57 Classic Plus"

You're welcome.

You may wind it and still not like it.
What ever you build you need to do tons of testing to get what you like.
I have wound some equal that I like as good or better than the offset windings.
Magnets have a huge effect on tone.
Terry